OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intravaginal misoprostol for the induction of labor in intrauterine fetal death. STUDY DESIGN: Seventy-two women at 18 to 40 weeks of pregnancy with intrauterine fetal death, without abdominal scars, were treated with 100 mu g of intravaginal misoprostol. The dose was repeated every 12 hours until effective uterine contractions and cervical dilatation were obtained, for up to 48 hours. RESULTS: The mean time from induction to delivery was 12.6 hours, and only six patients (8%) required between 24 and 48 hours, at the end of which all patients had been delivered. Only the Bishop's score was significantly associated with time from first dose to expulsion. No surgical procedure was required. Hypercontractility, sweating, fever, diarrhea, or other gastrointestinal effects were not detected. There was no need for analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: Intravaginal misoprostol at the dose of 100 mu g every 12 hours appears to be a safe, effective, practical, and inexpensive new method for induction of labor in intrauterine fetal death.1712538541